When I wrote my year-end wrap up last year, the US stood at the brink of war. Now, Saddam Hussein is captured and Iraq is an occupied country. Which is all fine and good (I suppose), but we're still at Orange Alert. The real bad guys, not the phantom menace ones, are still out there, still plotting, still dangerous. I can't help thinking that the $100 billion we're spending to "liberate" Iraq would have been better spent on a massive manhunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and Pakistan. One hundred billion dollars and a few hundred thousand troops would go a long way. I feel safer in Pittsburgh than I did in NY/NJ of course. Pittsburgh isn't a major target for terrorists (I hope). But nowhere is safe.

It's strange to think that I live in Pittsburgh now and that I'm in graduate school. It all seems sort of surreal at times, especially since it is something that I've thought about for years. My life is totally different from last year, when I toiled in Jersey City with Sean, Tom, Patrick, Bill, and the rest of the Datek crew, while living in the 'burbs. I'm also, not coincidentally, a lot poorer. But school is fun, and, hopefully, will pay off in the long run. I've made a lot of new friends and can actually feel myself becoming a better designer. It's been an exciting year.

Next year promises to be just as exciting. I'm teaching a class. Rachael and I are planning to go to Italy. Cedar Point beckons, as does a trip to my friend Sylvia's new bed and breakfast in the wilds of Iowa. It should be a year of travel and study, of drinks in smokey bars and good food in foreign cafes, of laughter and music, and of good writing and good design. I wish the same for you.

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